TL;DR#
I had never actively sought to understand Vietnamese culture and history, and only browsed posts shared by others before my trip. My stay was brief as a tourist, which was a novel experience, except for the hot weather.
- Got my first tattoo.
- Drinking and partying with strangers at a youth hostel.
One#
Before the trip, I accidentally bought the wrong flight time, and since I forgot to purchase luggage allowance, I ended up paying an extra fee on the return trip (compared to buying the luggage with the same ticket).
I had a layover in Macau, and before takeoff, I realized that the actual remaining layover time was about 30 minutes. If I didn't make it, I could spend a day in Macau, after all, I couldn't ask the captain to fly faster. I arrived a bit later than expected, but the gate wasn't far, and the second security check was much simpler, so I still had plenty of time.
The immigration process was generally smooth. As a young person who is proficient with the internet, I naturally prepared my visa and eSIM in advance. I waited in line for a while, not too long, and noticed quite a few white tourists in the queue.
The distance from the airport to the hostel was about 22KM, and Grab cost around 300,000 Vietnamese Dong. During check-in, the front desk guy spoke English that I could only partially understand. He started babbling with me while holding a picture, thinking he was going to introduce local attractions, but he was actually transferring me to another hostel B, explaining that he worked at A (where I had booked) at night and at B during the day. However, my understanding lagged, and I didn't ask why or refuse. The fact was that the experience at B was quite poor, even though the price for B that night was higher than what I had booked at A. I only stayed one night, so I just made do.
It seems that up to this point, the experiences haven't been very pleasant.
Two#
The next day, I started wandering around. In the morning, I went out to exchange some cash, but I forgot the password for my HSBC card, and after too many incorrect attempts, the card got locked. However, I had other cards to use, and the Industrial Bank's Huanyurensheng card was quite useful, offering three fee-free withdrawals from overseas UnionPay ATMs each month. Then I just wandered aimlessly, but the continuous motorcycles on the road forced me to confirm before crossing at every intersection. The hot weather constantly reminded me to find a shady place to stay.
Opposite is the popular Train Street
Because I didn't handle the light well, I lazily processed everything in black and white
Three#
There was no shopping plan for this trip, but there were a few vintage shops nearby, and the prices were really reasonable compared to those in my home country. I only carried one bag, and when it couldn't hold more, I stopped buying. I saw several shops later with many things I wanted, but I had to give up.
Four#
I had always wanted a tattoo, and coincidentally there was a shop next to the hostel, so I went to get a simple design. It wasn't very painful, just at an acceptable level, and the final result met my expectations. I originally scheduled to get another one the next day, but after drinking too much that night, I canceled due to a headache the next day.
Five#
I experienced two different hostels, both quite nice, especially at the price of 50 RMB per night. The first two nights at Little Charm had quite a few Chinese people, while I hardly saw anyone at BAD MONKEY for the next two days. The experiences were quite different; BAD MONKEY also had a bar, with different themed parties every night, providing more social opportunities. Other than that, they were pretty similar.
The most memorable part of this trip was the few days at the hostel, where I met many people from different countries. If I could be more fluent in English, I might discover more interesting people and things.
I tried to actively greet people, which went well. I should continue to improve my expression skills, especially in English.
Activities at BAD MONKEY every night, coincidentally, an employee from another hostel (left) came to find his friend (right)